“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
I write, because it seems as though I were BORN to do it. I can barely remember a time when I did not read. Writing didn't begin until third grade. Reading, of course, inspires one to write –– if one is meant to. Apparently I was.
I've composed and performed music too for the same reason. I had no choice in the matter.
There was never any money in any of it, but it was the way I felt I HAD to spend my time.
I'm not the least bit interested in what The World may think of me, because i have very little respect for The World. If I ever achieved popularity, I would begin to worry about myself. I would have to see it as a loss of character and integrity on my part.
"The great are rarely famous, the famous rarely great."
Being considered "great" long ago ceased to be of any importance to me.
Being regarded by the masses as "important" would no doubt prove to be a curse.
Henry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer.
His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work.
Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over 60 books.
The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the LA underground newspaper Open City.
AHA! Yet ANOTHER German malcontent moved to do everything in his power to upend Society and punish-if-not-eradicate the Upper Classes.
What WAS going on in fin de siecle Deutschland to prompt all this dissidence, bitter cynicism, and vengeful spirit?
Surely we can't blame it ALL on the Frankfurt School, can we?
Aside from Human Nature, which has been problematical since Eve tempted Adam to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, I believe most of the hideous ills that have plagued us since before we were born are rooted in the Industrial Revolution.
Bukowski is right.
ReplyDeleteI write, because it seems as though I were BORN to do it. I can barely remember a time when I did not read. Writing didn't begin until third grade. Reading, of course, inspires one to write –– if one is meant to. Apparently I was.
I've composed and performed music too for the same reason. I had no choice in the matter.
There was never any money in any of it, but it was the way I felt I HAD to spend my time.
I'm not the least bit interested in what The World may think of me, because i have very little respect for The World. If I ever achieved popularity, I would begin to worry about myself. I would have to see it as a loss of character and integrity on my part.
"The great are rarely famous, the famous rarely great."
Being considered "great" long ago ceased to be of any importance to me.
Being regarded by the masses as "important" would no doubt prove to be a curse.
A bit of background on Bukowski from WIKI:
ReplyDeleteHenry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer.
His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work.
Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over 60 books.
The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the LA underground newspaper Open City.
AHA! Yet ANOTHER German malcontent moved to do everything in his power to upend Society and punish-if-not-eradicate the Upper Classes.
What WAS going on in fin de siecle Deutschland to prompt all this dissidence, bitter cynicism, and vengeful spirit?
Surely we can't blame it ALL on the Frankfurt School, can we?
Something inherent to Modernism devolved into post-Modernism.
ReplyDeleteAside from Human Nature, which has been problematical since Eve tempted Adam to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, I believe most of the hideous ills that have plagued us since before we were born are rooted in the Industrial Revolution.
ReplyDelete